1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a decorative tree and, more specifically, to an artificial bark and method for providing said bark which includes the steps of applying a coating in semi-liquid form to a structural member of said artificial tree, heat treating, and painting.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the art to provide artificial trees which include artificial structural members such as branches and trunks. Prior art structural members may be plastic or steel and wrapped in artificial greenery or painted to resemble the color of bark. It is also known in the art to provide artificial trees which are, in essence, part artificial and part genuine. These trees typically include artificial branches and needles which are attached in some way to trunks which have been obtained from live trees.
The present invention differs from the above referenced inventions and others similar in that these prior devices either present a trunk that looks only remotely similar to a real trunk or, through the use of a real trunk, present problems for importation to the United States, pest control problems, durability challenges and fire hazards.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a material and method of application of the material which, when applied to the surface of artificial structural members, results in a surface that highly resembles real tree bark.
It is another object of the present invention to provide artificial tree bark which does not harbor pests and, therefore, when applied to decorative trees, will be allowed as an import to the United States.
As final objectives, the present invention provides an artificial tree bark which is more durable and more fire resistant than real wood and bark.
The present invention provides a material and a method for creating a surface coating on artificial structural members which looks remarkably like real bark on a real tree. For an artificial tree which uses steel tubes or other hard-surface structural members, an undercoat, which can be a foamable plastic coating, is applied to the clean structural member and air dried. A topcoat is applied next and a comb-like instrument is then used to texturize the topcoat to closely resemble the texture of real tree bark. The structural member and coating is air dried and then baked. Once cooled, paint similar to the color of bark is applied to the textured topcoat, such that the finished undercoat, topcoat and paint comprise artificial bark.
Prior to applying the undercoat to a structural member serving as a trunk, brackets may be affixed to the structural member which will facilitate the addition of branch members after the artificial bark is finished.